The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-22
THE LAW AND THE RIGHT.

THE LAW AND THE RIGHT.
The position of the News, if we gather it
correctly from multitude of evenly balanced
phrases, is: First, that Green Smith had no
right to act as President Of the Senate. It
says: Fright he had none, we think, and
never had" Second, that he was, in fact
presiding officer and should have been recog
nized as such for the purposes of legislation.
Third, that there was no difference in the
situation before and after the last decision Of
the Supreme Court, and. as the Republicans
recognized Smith before the decision, they
should have continued to do so after the
decision, and their failure to do so makes
them responsible for the failure of legisla-
ton. In this we aim to state the position of
the News exactly.
The admission that Smith had no right to
act as President of the Senate comedies the
whole case. If he was not in the right he
was in the wrong, and there can be no COM
promise with wrong. The hair-splitting about
words is not to the point. We are getting at
| the essence. We admit, as does the News,
| that in physical sense Smith had as much
power after the decision Of the court as he
had before, and that it rested on the same
basis. This done, we hold the News to its
admission that he had no right, and there we
insist the case ends, morally and logically. 1t
is idle to talk about his being de facto presid-
ing officer, etc. This is hair-splitting. A de
facto officer must, at least, have show Of
right. No man can make himself de facto
officer by sheer usurpation II Smith had no
right he was usurper, and could not be a de
facto officer after the Lieutenant governor,
freed from the injunction Of the court, at
tempted to take his seat, and was prevented
from so doing by brute force.
The difference in the situation before and
after the dissolution of the injunction was
very great. Smith had no more rights before
than he had after and Robertson had no more
after than he had before. The right was with
Robertson all the time, but while the injunc-
ton held he was restrained from acting. He
rested under a disability. The injunction
and left Smith to act as President pro tenn.
While the injunction continued in force the
status quo could not be changed. Robertson
could not lift finger, nor could the Repub-
licans for him. In legal sense he was cab
sent or "unable to act as President of
the Senate, and pending this Green
under the election for that office held after
the illegal organization of the Senate. But
when that Injunction was dissolved, and
Robertson was RENTED to his constitutional
rights, and when he was violently and forci
bly, elected from the Senate chamber, where
he had appeared to take his seat as it:
President, as commanded by the Constitution,
Green Smith retaining possession Of the chat,
by virtue of the brute force of the thieves
and Jail birds, and penitentiary con
victs by which he had surrounded himself
he became a usurper and the Senate a mob
Right then and there was the time and place
for the Republicans to refuse to hold any
official communication with body which
had placed itself outside of the Constitution
They could not consistently have done thi.
before the decision of the court dissolving the
Injunction. After the decision they coule
not consistently have done anything else
And they were pre-eminently right.